Improvement in photographic embossing-presses



N. WESTON. Photographic Embossing-Press.

No. 220,780. Patented Oct. 21, I879.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHANIEL WESTON, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PHOTOGRAPHIC EMBOSSING-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 220,780, dated October 21, 1879 application filed June '7, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NATHANIEL WESTON, of the city and county of San Francisco, and State of California, haveinven ted an Improved Photographic Embossing- Press; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has reference to certain improvements upon the press which is used by photographers for producing a raised oval design or cameo impression on card-mounts, my object-being to simplify the press and provide it with additions and improvements that will render it more convenient and durable, all as hereinafter more fully described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved cameo-press. Fig. 2 is a detached view of the depressing-cam; and Fig. 3 is a rear section of my improved press.

Let A represent the base or bed plate of the press, that is secured upon a table or other object by screws or otherwise. B B are the upright side standards, between which the oval pressing-ring C is guided and moved, andD is the lever-handle with its branching arms E E, the ends of which form the pressing-cams, all arranged in the usual relation to each other.

In the old machine, the rod or bolt F, which passes through the upper ends of the standards BB and through the pressing-cams g g, to serve as a fulcrum for the cams to turn on, was riveted permanently in place, and it was necessary to depress the ring by hand and detach it from its supporting-springs before it could be removed to introduce or remove the card. This was inconvenient, and took considerable time in manipulation. This bolt I put in loosely, so that it can be withdrawn after each operation, and thus free the cams and ringat once. The card-mountcan thus be lifted directly ofl the cushion on which it is pressed and another substituted in its place without loss of time, and without danger of defacing the mount, either before or after pressing it. This arrangement also permits me to use flat bow-springs h h for the ring to rest upon instead of the wire springs heretofore used. To

accommodate these springs I make a ledge, I, at the base of each standard B on the inside, so that the two ledges on opposite sides will be parallel with each other. These ledges are long enough toallow the ends of the springs to rest upon them and spread the required distance when they are depressed. At both ends of each ledge I make a stop, t, which prevents the springs from becoming displaced.

I also make thelstandards B with an inward projecting flange, j, on each side, and on each side of the ring 1 make a corresponding projection to slide between the flanges, so that the projection and flanges form guides that keep the ring from shifting when it is being depressed. This makes the press much stronger and steadier than the former arrange ment, and there is no danger of the impression being unevenly made.

7 When the cams are made of the soft metal that the lever-handle is made of, as is the case in the old machine, they soon wear down, so that it is impossible to get the desired amount of impression in the card. I therefore provide each cam with a steel face, I, by which means they are rendered durable and the uniformity of the impressions preserved.

In making impressions with this press it is sometimes necessary to stop the cams before they are turned around far enough to hold of themselves. I therefore make one or more teeth, 0 0,, in the outer edge of one or both of the cams, and mount a pawl, r, on the inside of the standards, so that the pawl or pawls will engage with the teeth as the cams rotate. This forms a ratchet arrangement that will hold the cams wherever they are stopped, thus avoiding the necessity of the operator holding onto the lever while the impression is being fixed.

I also use an extension lever-handle, which can be lengthened or shortened, according to the amount of leverage required to rotate the cams and depress the pressing-ring. In the present instance I have represented the handles as being made in sections which telescope together or slide into one another, the handle being secured to the end of the inside sliding section. Various devices might be substituted for this telescopic arrangement in order to provide an extension handle but they would only be equivalents of the device shown.

I thus provide important and valuable improvements to this class of presses, by which they are rendered more convenient, more durable, and more positive in their action.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The standards B B, with their inward-projecting flanges j j, in combination with the ring 0, with its correspondingprojection, and

the flat bow-springs h, combined and applied substantially as above described.

2. The ledges I at the bases of the standards, with their stops i, in combination withthe fiat bow-springs h and the pressing-ring, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

NATHANIEL WESTON. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

W. F. CLARK, W. FLOYD DUOKETT. 

